No, California Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t considering seceding

After it became clear Republican President-elect Donald Trump would be returning to the White House, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called an emergency special session to counter the incoming administration’s efforts. 

But Gavin, a Democrat, didn’t reveal plans for the state to secede, as recent social media posts claim. 

"REPORT: Governor Gavin Newsome is considering plans to secede from the union in order to prevent Trump from deporting illegal aliens and implementing voter ID laws," a Nov. 9 X post said, misspelling Newsom’s name. 

A similar Nov. 10 Threads post said, "Rumor: Governor Gavin considering plans to secede from the union in order to prevent Trump from deporting illegal aliens and implementing voter ID laws."  

The Threads post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

We found no evidence, such as credible news reporting, press releases or public statements from Newsom or people who work with him, to support this claim. 

Here’s what Newsom has said. 

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Facebook posts

stated on December 16, 2024 in a Facebook post

“The NFL has abruptly fired three referees who officiated the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.”

In a Nov. 7 X post, Newsom wrote, "I just called an emergency session to help bolster our legal resources and protect our state against any unlawful actions by the incoming Trump administration. Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked."

Newsom linked to a Nov. 7 New York Times story about governors in Democratic states starting to plan to fight Trump policies. The article didn’t discuss secession. 

In a proclamation Newsom issued Nov. 7 convening the session, he listed potential Trump policies that could have "significant and immediate" consequences for California, including "repealing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and reinstituting immigration policies that lead to family separations."

He didn’t mention secession. 

In a Nov. 9 X post, he said in a video: "I revere this country. I revere the presidency. And I want our president to succeed. And our job — my job — is not to wake up every single day and get a crowbar and try to put it in the spokes of the wheel of the Trump administration. And so in that spirit, of an open hand, not a closed fist, that’s how we want to proceed."

He added that he’s also not naive, but pragmatic, "and we will stand firm." 

"If our American values and freedoms are attacked, we will not stand idly by," the X post said.

We rate the claim that Newsom "is considering plans to secede from the union" False.